1. Field
The present invention relates to game bags for enclosing an animal carcass and hanging it in the wild and includes low volume airflow system for directing an airflow throughout the bag, over the carcass.
2. Prior Art
It has long been a problem for a hunter taking game in the wild, particularly a large game animal such as a deer, to preserve and protect that carcass until it can be cut, wrapped, and frozen. Typically, a hunter will leave the game suspended from a tree limb until he can obtain transportation, whereupon the heat and insects will begin to take their toll on the carcass. Often, by the time the hunter has cooled and finished preparing the carcass, a significantly large portion thereof will be ruined. Heretofore, game bags that have been available for covering such carcass have not provided for cooling it. Such covering has been to protect it from flies laying eggs thereon, but has not involved keeping the meat cool to avoid spoilage. Additionally, it is well know that a carcass can be wrapped with cheese cloth, or the like, and while such covering will protect the carcass to some degree from insect infestation, it will not be effective to prohibit heat damage and spoilage.
The present invention, as with the earlier game bags, provides for enclosing a freshly killed animal after it is gutted within a bag structure that can be suspended from a tree, or the like, in the wild. Unique to the present invention, is a combination of the game bag and hanger arrangement with a battery or solar cell driven fan or blower to provide an airflow into and through the game bag. The blower further includes a filter pad over an air inlet end connected to receive a drip flow of water thereover. The blower will thereby pull an airflow that is passed into the game bag, which game bag can include a venting arrangement for avoiding moisture buildup therein.
Additionally, where earlier game bags and wraps have only been concerned with providing a covering for the carcass, the present invention recognizes that, in addition to keeping the carcass cool, there may be occasions when it would be useful to smoke the meat to preserve it. The present invention, therefore, also includes a capability for pulling smoke from a canister type smoker or smoke generator through a connected hose into the game bag to both raise the temperature within the bag and provide a smoke source. To effectively smoke meat, such meat should be in sections and the smoke circulated therearound. To meet this need, the present invention, provides a collapsing rack arrangement for suspension in the game bag that is for receiving sections of meat arranged thereon.
Unlike earlier devices to wrap a carcass, the present invention employs a reflective game bag outer surface, to as much as possible, prevent the sun from warming of the bag interior. And, for smoking meat it has been found to be useful to provide a game bag surface that will absorb heat so as to make use of sun heating along with the heat in the smoke to raise the bag temperature. The present invention recognizes these conflicting needs and meets them by providing a game bag that is reversible, a reflective surface arranged on one surface thereof and with a sun absorbing or dark surface on the opposite surface.
Where a hunter is unable to move his kill to a cutting and wrapping facility for a period of time, the present invention provides an arrangement for preserving that carcass even over fairly lengthy periods of time in the wild. Such preservation has not been possible with earlier wraps and bags that have been concerned only with wrapping such carcass for the purpose only of avoiding insect infestation. The present invention therefore provides a system for both cooling such carcass and even treating it with smoke for protecting against spoilage and, along with covering the carcass, to minimize or avoid damage through insect infestation.